Use of Media Storage Structure with Multiple Pieces of Content in a Content-Distribution System

ABSTRACT

A method for distributing content. The method distributes a single media storage structure to a device (e.g., a computer, portable player, etc.). The media storage structure includes first and second pieces of encrypted content. Based on whether the device is allowed to access the first piece of content, the second piece of content, or both, the method provides the device with a set of keys for decrypting the pieces of the content that the device is able to access. The provided set of keys might include one or more keys for decrypting only one of the two encrypted pieces of content. Alternatively, it might include one or more keys for decrypting both encrypted pieces of content. For instance, the selected set of keys might include a first key for decrypting the first encrypted piece and a second key for decrypting the second encrypted piece.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to the use of a single media storagestructure with multiple pieces of content in a digital rights managementsystem.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The protection of digital content transferred between computers over anetwork is fundamentally important for many enterprises today.Enterprises attempt to secure this protection by implementing some formof Digital Rights Management (DRM) process. The DRM process ofteninvolves encrypting the piece of content (e.g., encrypting the binaryform of the content) to restrict usage to those who have been granted aright to the content.

Cryptography is the traditional method of protecting data in transitacross a network. In its typical application, cryptography protectscommunications between two mutually trusting parties from an attack onthe data in transit. However, for many digital file transferapplications today (e.g., for the transfer of audio or video content),the paradigm has shifted, as a party that receives the content (i.e.,the “receiving party”) might try to break the DRM encryption that theparty that supplied the content (i.e., the “distributing party”) appliedto the content. In addition, with the proliferation of networkpenetration attacks, a third party may obtain access to the receivingparty's computer and thus to the protected content.

Some pieces of content that are distributed in existing DRM systems arerelated to one another. However, existing DRM system often do not allowcontent recipients to flexibly purchase or license a subset of thecontents from a related set of DRM contents. For instance, one existingDRM system distributes certain songs along with their associated musicvideos. In distributing a song along with its associated music video,this DRM system rigidly requires a recipient either (1) to purchase boththe song and its associated music video, or (2) to forego access to boththe song and its associated music video. Therefore, there is a need inthe art for a DRM system that flexibly allows content recipients topurchase or license a subset of the content from a related set of DRMcontents.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Some embodiments of the invention provide a method for distributingcontent over a network. The method distributes a single media storagestructure to a device (e.g., a computer, portable player, etc.) thatconnects to the network. The media storage structure includes first andsecond pieces of encrypted content. Based on whether the device isallowed to access the first piece of content, the second piece ofcontent, or both, the method provides the device with a set of keys fordecrypting the pieces of the content that the device is able to access.

The provided set of keys might include one or more keys for decryptingonly one of the two encrypted pieces of content. Alternatively, it mightinclude one or more keys for decrypting both encrypted pieces ofcontent. For instance, the selected set of keys might include a firstkey for decrypting the first encrypted piece and a second key fordecrypting the second encrypted piece. Based on the provided set ofkeys, the device can then decrypt and access either one of the twopieces of content in the media storage structure or both pieces ofencrypted content in the media storage structure.

The media storage structure includes a first content section that storesthe first piece of encrypted content, and a second content section thatstores the second piece of encrypted content. In some embodiments, themedia storage structure also includes first and second key sectionsrespectively for storing first and second keys for decrypting the firstand second pieces of encrypted content. The method of some embodimentsdistributes the media storage structure with the encrypted first andsecond content pieces from a computer that is separate from the computeror computers that distribute the first and second keys. In someembodiments, the device that receives the media storage structureinserts the first and second keys in the first and second key sectionsof the media storage structure.

One piece of encrypted content might be audio content (e.g., an audiotrack, a song, a sound track, etc.) related to a particular presentation(e.g., a music video, a film, etc.), while the other piece of encryptedcontent might be video content (e.g., a video track, a video clip, etc.)related to the particular presentation. Alternatively, both pieces ofcontent can be video content (e.g., video clips from different angles ofone or more scenes) or audio content (e.g., different versions or mixesof a song or different languages for the dialogue in a movie). Inaddition, content other than audio or video might be stored in the mediastorage structure. For instance, one piece of content might be audio orvideo content, while the other piece of content might be lyrics ordialogue associate with the audio or video content piece.

The method in some embodiments distributes a media storage structurethat contains more than two pieces of content. For instance, in somecases, the media storage structure includes one piece of audio contentand two pieces of video content, which can be two different video clipsassociated with the audio content (e.g., can be two different musicvideos that are associated with a song).

In some embodiments, the device (e.g., the computer) that receives themedia storage structure transfers the media storage structure to anotherdevice (e.g., to a portable player). In this transfer, one of the piecesof content from the media storage structure might be removed in thetransfer of the media storage structure to the other device (e.g., inthe portable player). In some cases, content is removed from the mediastorage structure in order to reduce the consumption of resources on theother device. In other cases, content is removed from the media storagestructure because the other device does not have rights to access thisother content.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The novel features of the invention are set forth in the appendedclaims. However, for purpose of explanation, several embodiments are setforth in the following figures.

FIG. 1 illustrates an example of such a media storage structure.

FIG. 2 illustrates an example where the selected set of keys includes afirst key for decrypting the first encrypted piece of content and asecond key for decrypting the second encrypted piece of content.

FIG. 3 illustrates another example of the media storage structure.

FIGS. 4-10 illustrate various examples of related pieces of content in amedia storage structure of some embodiments.

FIG. 11 illustrates a content-distribution system of some embodiments.

FIG. 12 conceptually illustrates an example of one possible set ofinteractions between the computer, the DRM server, and thecontent-caching server.

FIG. 13 illustrates another example of a computer acquiring a mediafile.

FIG. 14 illustrates a computer's storage of the two keys that itreceives in the example illustrated in FIG. 11.

FIG. 15 illustrates a computer's storage of the key that it receives inthe example illustrated in FIG. 13.

FIG. 16 illustrates an example of the computer synchronizing its DRMcontent with a portable player.

FIG. 17 conceptually illustrates a process that a computer performs insome embodiments to synchronize a set of content with a portable player.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

In the following description, numerous details are set forth for thepurpose of explanation. However, one of ordinary skill in the art willrealize that the invention may be practiced without the use of thesespecific details. In other instances, well-known structures and devicesare shown in block diagram form in order not to obscure the descriptionof the invention with unnecessary detail.

I. Media Storage Structure

Some embodiments of the invention provide a content-distribution systemfor distributing unitary media storage structures to devices (e.g.,computers, portable players, etc.) that connect to a network. Eachunitary media storage structure includes a set of related pieces ofcontent. In at least some unitary media storage structures of someembodiments, each piece of content is separately encrypted to protect itfrom unauthorized use. Examples of pieces of content include video,audio, text, sound, etc.

FIG. 1 conceptually illustrates an example of a unitary media storagestructure 100 of some embodiments. As shown in this figure, the mediastorage structure includes first and second pieces 105 and 110 ofencrypted content. It also includes first and second sections 115 and120 for containing first and second cryptographic keys for decryptingthe first and second pieces 105 and 110 of content. The media storagestructure also includes a header 125 that includes metadata regardingthe content in the media storage structure.

Based on whether the device is allowed to access the first piece ofcontent 105, the second piece of content 110, or both, the systemprovides the device with a set of keys for decrypting the pieces of thecontent that the device is able to access. The provided set of keysmight include only one key for decrypting only one of the two encryptedpieces of content. Alternatively, it might include two keys fordecrypting both encrypted pieces of content.

For instance, FIG. 2 illustrates an example where the selected set ofkeys includes a first key 215 for decrypting the first encrypted pieceof content 105 and a second key 220 for decrypting the second encryptedpiece of content 110. FIG. 3 illustrates another example of the mediastorage structure 100. In this example, the media storage structure 100includes only the second key 220 for decrypting the second piece ofencrypted content 110.

Based on the set of keys that the system provides to the device, thedevice can decrypt and access either one of the two pieces of content105 and 110 or both pieces of encrypted content. The system of someembodiments distributes the media storage structure with the encryptedfirst and second content pieces 105 and 110 from a computer that isseparate from the computer or computers that distribute the first andsecond keys 215 and 220 for decrypting the first and second pieces ofencrypted content.

While this application describes receiving, storing, manipulating andusing a “key,” it will be understood that a host of know techniques canbe used to disguise the key. For example, key hiding, key encryption,splitting the key into more than one piece to be stored separately, andobfuscation of read/write operations, can all be used and are consideredwithin the general concept of receiving, storing, and using a “key.”

As mentioned above, the single media storage structure that isdistributed by some embodiments includes a set of related pieces ofcontent. In some embodiments, two pieces of content are related whenthey relate to the same audio and/or video presentation (e.g., song,movie, music video, etc.). In some cases, two pieces of related contentcan be viewed or played simultaneously. In other cases, two pieces ofrelated content can be viewed or player independently.

FIGS. 4-10 illustrate various examples of related pieces of content in amedia storage structure of some embodiments. FIG. 4 illustrates anexample of a storage structure 400 where one piece of encrypted contentis audio content 405 (e.g., an audio track, a song, a sound track)related to a particular presentation (e.g., a music video, a film,etc.), while the other piece of encrypted content is video content 410(e.g., a video track, a video clip, etc.) related to the particularpresentation.

FIG. 5 illustrates a storage structure 500 that includes two pieces ofvideo content. One example of two such pieces of video content would betwo video clips that are shot from different angles to cover one or morescenes in a movie. A piece of video content might also include audiocontent associated with its video content or might only include videodata. FIG. 6 illustrates a storage structure 600 that includes twopieces of audio content. One example of two such pieces of audio contentwould be two different versions or mixes of a song.

Content other than audio or video might be stored in the media storagestructure of the some embodiments of the invention. For instance, FIG. 7illustrates a media storage structure 700 that stores one piece of audiocontent 705 and another piece of textual content 710, which might belyrics, dialogue, or other data associated with the audio content 705.Similarly, FIG. 8 illustrates a media storage structure 800 that storesone piece of video content 805 and another piece of textual content 810,which might be dialogue associate with the video content 805.

In some cases, the system distributes a media storage structure thatcontains more than two pieces of content. For instance, FIG. 9illustrates a media storage structure 900 that includes one piece ofaudio content (e.g., a song) along with two pieces of video content,which can be two different video clips associated with the audio content(e.g., can be two different music videos that are associated with thesong). Similarly, FIG. 10 illustrates a media storage structure 1000that includes one piece of video content (e.g., a movie) along with twopieces of audio content, which can be the video's audio component in twodifferent languages.

In the various examples illustrated in FIGS. 4-10, the media storagestructure includes a key for decrypting each piece of content stored inthe media storage structure. As mentioned above, thecontent-distribution system of some embodiments allows different set ofkeys to be acquired (e.g., purchased or licensed) for accessing a mediastorage structure on a particular device. In some embodiments, thedevice stores the acquired set of keys in the media storage structure,and uses the acquired set of keys to decrypt and access the mediastorage structure's content that has been purchased or licensed foraccess on the device. Once decrypted, the device can individually orsimultaneously view or play the decrypted pieces of content.

In some embodiments, the device (e.g., the computer) that receives themedia storage structure transfers the media storage structure to anotherdevice (e.g., to a portable player). In this transfer, one of the piecesof content from the media storage structure might be removed in thetransfer of the media storage structure to the other device (e.g., inthe portable player). In some cases, one of the pieces of content isremoved in order to reduce the consumption of resources on the otherdevice.

Some embodiments above were illustrated by reference to a media storagestructure that itself includes a plurality of sections available forstorage of keys. Such storage sections can be incorporated into manymedia file formats, including the Quicktime file format, Windows Mediafile format, Real media format, ISO/IEC 14496-12, Motion JPEG, etc. Oneof ordinary skill will realize that in some embodiments the keys arealternatively stored and transferred separately from the unitary mediafiles to which they pertain.

II. Content-Distribution System

FIG. 11 illustrates a content-distribution system 1100 of someembodiments. This content-distribution system distributes content in amanner that protects the digital rights (i.e., ensures the legal use) ofthe content. To distribute content that is related, the systemdistributes single media storage structures with multiple related piecesof content. In this example, the media storage structures are mediafiles. One of ordinary skill will realize that other embodiments mightuse other types of storage structures.

As shown in FIG. 11, the content-distribution system 1100 includes acontent-caching server 1105, a DRM server 1110, and a content-receivingcomputer 1115. The computer 1115 connects to the servers 1105 and 1110through a computer network, such as a local area network, a wide areanetwork, a network of networks (e.g., the Internet), etc.

Through this connection, the computer 1115 communicates with the DRMserver 1110 to obtain content. In some embodiments, thecontent-distribution system 1100 does not entail the sale or licensingof content. Accordingly, in these embodiments, the DRM server 1110simply enforces the distribution of content to authorized computerswithout considering any financial objectives.

For purposes of illustration, however, several embodiments of thecontent-distribution system 1100 that are described below are involvedin the sale or licensing of the content. Accordingly, in theseembodiments, the DRM server 1110 is the server from which the user ofthe computer 1115 can purchase or license content. In other words, theDRM server 1110 of some embodiments is the server that handles thefinancial transaction for purchasing or licensing content. In someinstance, certain content can be purchased or licensed free.

After the DRM server 1110 determines that the computer 1115 can obtainthe content, the content-distribution system 1100 uses the contentcaching server 1105 to provide a media storage file that contains one ormore pieces of DRM content to the computer 1115 through the network1120. In some embodiments, the system 1100 uses multiple caching servers1105 to cache content at various locations on the network, in order toimprove the speed and efficiency of downloading content across thenetwork. For each media storage file that the DRM server 1110 directsthe caching server 1105 to provide to the computer 1115, the DRM server1110 provides a set of keys for the computer to use to decrypt thecontent that is stored in the media storage file.

FIG. 12 conceptually illustrates an example of one possible set ofinteractions between the computer 1115, the DRM server 1110, and thecontent-caching server 1105. This set of interactions represents acontent-acquisition process 1200 of some embodiments of the invention.As shown in this figure, the acquisition process 1200 starts when thecomputer 1115 sends (at 1205) a request to the DRM server 1110 topurchase or license one or more pieces of content that are stored in aparticular media file. At 1210, the DRM server receives this request.

The acquisition process then has the DRM server 1110 and/or purchasingcomputer 1115 perform one or more operations (at 1215) to complete thepurchase or license transaction. After the transaction has beencompleted, the DRM server 1110 sends (at 1215) a request to thecontent-caching server 1105 to send the media file for the purchased orlicensed content to the computer 1115.

The caching server 1105 receives this request at 1225, and in response,commences (at 1230) a download of the media file to the purchasingcomputer 1115. FIG. 11 illustrates an example of a media file 1125 thatthe content caching server 1105 downloads to the computer 1115. In thisexample, the media file has five sections. The first and second section1145 and 1155 contain two pieces of encrypted content. Each piece ofcontent is encrypted using a particular content key. The third andfourth sections 1150 and 1160 are empty sections in the file for theinsertion of the content keys if such content keys are purchased orlicensed by the computer 1115. Lastly, the fifth section 1165 is aheader field, which contains metadata regarding the content and/orcontent keys.

The computer 1115 receives (at 1235) the media file provided by thecaching server. The computer 1115 then sends (at 1240) a confirmation ofthe download to the DRM server 1110. After 1220, the DRM server 1110transitions to a wait state 1245 to wait for the confirmation to bereceived from the computer 1115.

Once the DRM server 1110 receives the confirmation of the download at1245, it sends (at 1250) to the computer 1115 a set of keys based on thepieces of content that the computer 1115 purchased or licensed. In theexample illustrated in FIG. 11, the computer 1115 has acquired bothpieces of content that is stored in the media file. Accordingly, in thisexample, the DRM server 1110 sends (at 1250) a set of keys that wouldallow the computer 1115 to access both pieces of content in the mediafile 1125.

In the example illustrated in FIG. 11, this set of keys includes twocontent keys 1130 and 1132. In some embodiments, each piece of content(e.g., 1145 or 1155) is encrypted based on a particular content key(e.g., 1130 or 1132). Hence, the computer 1115 uses the content key 1130to decrypt the encrypted content 1145, and uses the content key 1132 todecrypt the encrypted content 1155.

FIG. 13 illustrates another example of the computer 1115 acquiring themedia file 1125. In this example, the computer 1115 has only acquiredthe first encrypted content 1145. Accordingly, even though the cachingserver 1105 supplies the computer 1115 with the media file that containsboth pieces of content, the DRM server 1110 only supplies the contentkey 1130 for the encrypted content 1145.

Accordingly, in this example, the computer can access the encryptedcontent 1145 in the media file by using the content key 1130. However,since the computer 1115 has not received the encrypted content for theencrypted content 1155 in the media file 1125, the computer cannotdecrypt the encrypted content 1155.

As shown in FIG. 12, the computer 1115 receives (at 1255) the set ofkeys supplied by the DRM server 1110. As shown in FIG. 12, the computer1115 stores (at 1260) this set of keys in the media file. FIG. 14illustrates the computer's storage of the two keys that it receives inthe example illustrated in FIG. 11. As shown in this figure, thecomputer 1115 initially stores the content keys 1130 and 1132 intemporary storages 1405 and 1407. It then merges these content keys withthe media file 1125 that it received at 1235 and that it temporarilystored in a temporary storage 1410. The computer then stores the mediafile that results from this merging in a content library storage 1415.

FIG. 15 illustrates the computer's storage of the key that it receivesin the example illustrated in FIG. 13. The storage operation illustratedin FIG. 15 is similar to the storage operation illustrated in FIG. 14,except that the merge file (stored in the content media library 1415)does not contain the content key 1132 for the second encrypted contentas the computer did not acquire and receive this content key.

In the embodiments described above, the content-distribution system 1100utilizes one computer to provide the encrypted content while usinganother computer to provide the keys necessary for decrypting theencrypted content. One of ordinary skill will realize that in otherembodiments the content-distribution system utilizes one computer toprovide encrypted content and the keys for decrypting the encryptedcontent.

Alternatively, in other embodiments, the content-distribution systemuses more than one computer to provide the cryptographic keys for thecontent. For example, keys for audio content may be available from oneserver and keys for related video content stored in the same mediastorage structure may be available from a separate server. The multipleservers may even be owned and administered by different parties, as maybe the rights they administer.

Also, in the embodiments described above, the content-distributionsystem 1100 provides different cryptographic keys for decryptingdifferent pieces of content. In other embodiments, thecontent-distribution system might utilize different encoding schemes forencrypting different pieces of content. For instance, the system mightutilize a symmetric encoding scheme to encrypt audio content but utilizean asymmetric encrypting scheme to encrypt video content. Alternatively,the system might encrypt audio content in its entirety, while encryptingonly parts of the video content.

Also, FIG. 12 illustrates one possible set of interactions between thecomputer 1115, the DRM server 1110, and the caching server 1105. One ofordinary skill will realize that these computers might interactdifferently in other embodiments. For instance, in some embodiments, thecomputer 1115 does not send a confirmation of the receipt of a mediafile to the DRM server. In some of these embodiments, the DRM server onits own sends the set of keys to the computer 1115.

Although some embodiments have been described with reference to asimplified network configuration, it will be understood that manyvariations exist within the framework described herein. For example, theDRM server is shown as a single computer, but for the purposes of thispatent, such a server could include many interconnected computers and/ormemory and/or interconnecting pieces of equipment. Similarly, thecontent caching server could be a single computer or a collection ofnetworked computers and memory all forming a server. Additionally, whilecontent may be supplied from a content caching server directly orindirectly to a specific client computer, other transfer methods mayresult in a computer requiring keys to unlock content available to itfrom a peer computer, portable storage device, or some other transfermechanism.

III. Synchronization with a Player

In some embodiments, the computer 1115 can synchronizes its DRM contentwith a portable player that is also allowed access to the DRM content.In some cases, this synchronization removes one or more pieces ofcontent from a media file that the computer downloads to the portableplayer. In some cases, the pieces of content are removed in order toreduce the consumption of resources on the other device. In other cases,content is removed from the media storage structure because the otherdevice does not have rights to access this other content.

FIG. 16 illustrates an example of the computer 1115 synchronize its DRMcontent with a portable player 1605. The portable player can be a musicplayer, audio/video player, etc. When the computer 1115 synchronizes itsDRM content with the player 1605, the portable player 1605 in someembodiments receives (1) DRM content from the computer 1115, and (2) acontent key for decrypting each piece of DRM content that it receives.The portable then stores the received encrypted DRM content and theassociated keys.

FIG. 17 conceptually illustrates a process 1700 that a computer 1115performs in some embodiments to synchronize a set of content with aplayer 1605. As shown in this figure, the process 1700 starts (at 1705)when it receives a request to synchronize a set of content with theplayer 1605. The process then identifies (at 1710) the set of mediafiles that is associated with a user account ID of the player.

Next, the process determines (at 1715) whether the computer 1115 isstoring any media file for the player, which it has not yet downloadedto the player (i.e., whether there is any media file that needs to besynchronized between the computer and the player). If not, the processends.

Otherwise, the process selects (at 1720) a media file that needs to besynchronized. At 1720, the process removes from the media file any pieceof content that has been designated as content that should not bedownloaded to the portable player. In some embodiments, the computeruses an application that allows a user to designate the content that theuser wishes to synchronize with the portable player.

If the process removes (at 1720) any content from the media file, italso removes the content's associated content key and metadata from themedia file in some embodiments of the invention. FIG. 16 illustrates anexample of the removal of the video content and its associated contentkey from a media file 1600 that is downloaded to the portable player1605.

After 1720, the process downloads (at 1725) the media file that containsonly the encrypted content that has to be synchronized with the player(i.e., downloads the media file after any content that should not bedownloaded to the player has been removed). In some embodiments, thedownloaded media file not only contains one or more pieces of encryptedcontent but also contains one or more content keys that can be used todecrypt the content. In some embodiments, the set of keys that isdownloaded in the media file to the player is the same set of keys thatare used to decrypt the content on the computer 1115. In otherembodiments, the keys in the downloaded media file are a different setof keys.

The player then stores (at 1725) the downloaded media file on itsinternal storage (e.g., its internal non-volatile storage, hard drive,flash memory, etc.). After 1725, the process determines (at 1730)whether there is any additional content for the player that it has notyet downloaded to the player (i.e., whether there is any additionalcontent that needs to be synchronized between the computer and theplayer). If so, the process repeats 1720 and 1725 for a piece of contentthat needs to be synchronized. If not, the process ends.

FIG. 17 provides an illustrative example of synchronizing media filesbetween a computer and a player in some embodiments of the invention.One of ordinary skill will realize that other embodiments use otherprocesses for synchronizing media files. Also, in some embodiments, theportable player directly communicates with the DRM server and/or thecontent caching server to obtain content.

IV. Encryption

As described above, several embodiments of the invention provide DRMprocesses and systems for distributing content. These processes andsystems encrypt and decrypt content based on cryptographic keys.Encrypting content entails transforming the content from a decipherableform (called plaintext) into an indecipherable form (called ciphertext)based on one or more cryptographic keys. Decrypting content entailstransforming encrypted content into a decipherable from by using one ormore cryptographic keys.

An encryption key is a piece of information that controls the operationof a cryptography algorithm. In symmetrical encryption technology, thekey that is used to encrypt content is the same key that is used todecrypt content. In asymmetric encryption technology, the same key isnot used to encrypt and decrypt the content. For instance, in onescheme, an encrypting device uses a public key of a recipient to encryptcontent, and the recipient uses its private key to decrypt the encryptedcontent.

Many of the features of the embodiments described above can beimplemented according to a symmetrical or asymmetrical encryptionapproach. Also, in some embodiments, the encryption is applied to abinary format of the content. Although the unencrypted binary format ofa piece of content may be hard for a human to decipher, it can bedeciphered by an application or an operating system. On the other hand,encrypted binary format of a piece of content ideally should not bedeciphered by any application or operating system, without first beingdecrypted by using one or more cryptographic keys.

While the invention has been described with reference to numerousspecific details, one of ordinary skill in the art will recognize thatthe invention can be embodied in other specific forms without departingfrom the spirit of the invention. For instance, even though one set ofkeys are described above for the media storage files of someembodiments, other embodiments provide different sets of keys fordefining different levels of access on different devices to the contentof a media storage file. Thus, one of ordinary skill in the art wouldunderstand that the invention is not to be limited by the foregoingillustrative details, but rather is to be defined by the appendedclaims.

1-21. (canceled)
 22. A method for distributing media content to adevice, the method comprising: from a key source, sending a request to acontent source that stores protected media portions to provide a singlemedia storage structure to the device, wherein the key source storeskeys for decrypting various protected media portions, wherein the singlemedia storage structure comprises a plurality of the protected mediaportions stored by the content source; at the key source, receiving fromthe device a confirmation that the single media storage structure hasbeen successfully received from the content source by the device; andfrom the key source, sending to the device a key for each of theplurality of protected media portions in the single media storagestructure that the device has permission to access, wherein the keys areprovided in response to the confirmation that is received from thedevice.
 23. The method of claim 22 further comprising, before sendingthe request to the content source, completing, at the key source, afinancial transaction with the device in which the device acquires aright to access the protected media portions in the single media storagestructure.
 24. The method of claim 23 further comprising receiving, atthe key source, a request to purchase content from the device beforecompleting the financial transaction.
 25. The method of claim 22,wherein the media storage structure further comprises a set of emptyslots associated with the protected media portions and the keys sent tothe device are for insertion into the empty slots at the device.
 26. Themethod of claim 22, wherein the method does not send the keys to thedevice until after receipt of the confirmation from the device.
 27. Themethod of claim 22, wherein the key source is a DRM server, the contentsource is one of a plurality of distributed content caching computers,and the device is a user computer.
 28. A method for distributing mediacontent to a device, the method comprising: at a content source forstoring and distributing protected media portions, receiving, from a keysource, a request to provide a single media storage structure comprisinga set of protected media portions to the device, wherein the key sourceis for storing and distributing keys that grant access to the protectedmedia portions that are stored at the content source; and at the contentsource, in response to the request received from the key source andwithout receiving a request from the device, providing the requestedsingle media storage structure to the device.
 29. The method of claim28, wherein the content source is one of a plurality of distributedsources for storing and distributing protected media portions.
 30. Themethod of claim 28, wherein the request is received after a financialtransaction is performed between the key source and the device, andwherein the financial transaction comprises a purchase of a license toaccess at least one media portion of the unitary media storagestructure.
 31. The method of claim 28, wherein the set of protectedmedia portions comprises (i) a first protected media portion that isencrypted by using a symmetric encoding scheme and (ii) a secondprotected media portion that is encrypted by using an asymmetricencrypting scheme.
 32. The method of claim 28, wherein the set ofprotected media portions comprises (i) a first audio media portion thatis fully encrypted and (ii) a second video media portion that ispartially encrypted.
 33. The method of claim 28, wherein the mediastorage structure further comprises a set of empty slots for storingkeys that grant access to the protected media portions.
 34. Anon-transitory machine readable medium of a device storing a programwhich when executed by at least one processing unit of the deviceacquires media content at the device, the program comprising sets ofinstructions for: sending a request to purchase content to a key sourcethat stores keys for decrypting various protected media portions;receiving a single media storage structure from a content source thatstores protected media portions, wherein the single media storagestructure stores the purchased content as protected media portions;sending a confirmation of the receipt of the single media storagestructure to the key source; and receiving a set of keys for accessingthe protected media portions from the key source after sending theconfirmation of the receipt of the single media storage structure. 35.The non-transitory machine readable medium of claim 34, wherein theprogram further comprises a set of instructions for completing afinancial transaction with the key source in which the device acquires aright to access the purchased content after sending the request topurchase content to the key source.
 36. The non-transitory machinereadable medium of claim 34, wherein the device does not receive the setof keys until after the key source has received the confirmation of thereceipt of the single media storage structure.
 37. The non-transitorymachine readable medium of claim 34, wherein the media storage structurefurther comprises a set of empty slots associated with the protectedmedia portions.
 38. The non-transitory machine readable medium of claim37, wherein the program further comprises a set of instructions forinserting the received set of keys into the slots of the media storagestructure.
 39. The non-transitory machine readable medium of claim 38,wherein the program further comprises a set of instructions foraccessing the protected media portions after inserting the received setof keys into the slots of the media storage structure.
 40. Acontent-distribution system comprising: a set of key distributioncomputers for (i) receiving a request, from a device, to purchasecontent, (ii) requesting that a set of content distribution computersprovide the purchased content to the device in a protected form, and(iii) distributing a set of keys to the device in response to aconfirmation received from the device that the device has received asingle media storage structure comprising a set of protected mediaportions from a set of content distribution computers, wherein eachparticular key in the set of keys is for accessing a particularprotected media portion in the single media storage structure; the setof content distribution computers for distributing the single mediastorage structure comprising the set of protected media portions to thedevice; and the device for (i) receiving the single media storagestructure, (ii) sending the confirmation to the set of key distributioncomputers after receiving the single media storage structure, and (iii)receiving the set of keys after sending the confirmation.
 41. The systemof claim 40, wherein the media storage structure further comprises a setof empty slots associated with the protected media portions.
 42. Themethod of claim 41, wherein the device is further for inserting thereceived set of keys into the empty slots of the single media storagestructure and accessing the protected media portions by using the keysinserted into the single media storage structure.